[3410-11p] 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement, New Special-Use 

Permits for Recreation Residences on the Safford Ranger District, Graham County, 

Arizona 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA) and the President’s Council on Environmental Quality regulations, the 

Forest Service, Coronado National Forest, announces the public availability of a Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that discloses the potential environmental 

impacts of the issuance of special-use permits (SUPs) for recreation residences on the 

Safford Ranger District, Graham County, Arizona. 

DATES: The DEIS will be available for a 45-day public review and comment period that 

begins on the date of publication of this Notice of Availability (NOA) in the Federal 

Register. No public meetings are planned to be held during the public review period. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the DEIS have been sent concurrently with publication of this 

NOA to interested parties and Federal, State, and local government agencies and 

officials. An electronic copy of the DEIS is also available for public review on 

http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado. Copies of the DEIS will be available for public review 

at the following locations: 

*Safford Ranger District: 711 S. 14th Ave., Suite D, Safford, AZ and 

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*Coronado National Forest Supervisor’s Office: 300 W. Congress St., 6th Floor, 

Tucson, AZ. 

Requests for copies of the DEIS as an electronic file, compact disk or paper copy format 

may be made by contacting Ms. Celeste A. Gordon, Recreation and Special-Uses 

Program Manager, Coronado National Forest, on (520) 388-8422 or by electronic mail at 

cgordon@fs.fed.us. 

 You may submit written comments on the DEIS by hand delivery, U.S. postal 

mail, facsimile, and electronic mail (email). Only comments received during the 45-day 

period following publication of this NOA will be considered prior to a decision on the 

proposed action. Only parties who offer comment during this period will be granted the 

right to appeal the decision. 

 Copies by postal mail should be sent to Ms. Celeste A. Gordon, Coronado 

National Forest, 300 W. Congress St., Tucson, AZ 85701. Hand delivery of written 

comments to the same address may occur between 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. 

 Facsimiles may be sent to Ms. Gordon at (520) 388-8305, and email to 

comments-southwestern-coronado@fs.fed.us. Envelopes and the subject line of email 

and facsimiles should be identified as “Safford Recreational Residence DEIS”. 

 Comments on the DEIS should be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if 

comments refer to line numbers, pages, and/or chapters of the DEIS. Comments may 

address the adequacy of specific analyses in the DEIS and the merits of the alternatives 

formulated and discussed in the document (refer to CEQ regulations at 40 CFR 1503.3). 

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Please note that comments received, including the names and addresses of those who 

comment, will be considered part of the public record of this NEPA review and will be 

available for public inspection upon request under the authority of the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the Forest Service 

Special Uses Program, please contact Ms. Celeste A. Gordon, Recreation and SpecialUses Program Manager, Coronado National Forest, at the above address, or by 

telephone at (520) 388-8422. Questions on the Forest Service NEPA process or FOIA 

requirements may be directed to Ms. Andrea Wargo Campbell, Forest NEPA 

Coordinator, at the above address, and by telephone on (520) 388-8352. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Forest Service has offered a 

recreational residence program on National Forest System lands since the 1920's. The 

program was initiated with the objective of encouraging city-dwellers to enjoy the 

national forests by permitting them to construct vacation homes on specified plots. It 

expanded through the 1960's to encompass a total of 19,000 cabins nationwide before the 

program was discontinued. 

 There are now about 15,000 Forest Service cabins nationwide, each of which is 

maintained under the terms and conditions of SUPs issued by the managing Forest. 

Though some cabins have been traded on the open market, many are still owned by the 

descendants of the individuals who built them. 

 Eighty-eight (88) recreational residences are located on the Safford Ranger 

District of the Coronado National Forest near Safford, Arizona. Fourteen are found in an 

area known as Old Columbine, and 74 are found at Turkey Flat. The owners of these 

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recreational residences hold Forest Service SUPs that allow each unit to be occupied 

under specific terms and conditions. 

 The Forest Service’s proposed action is to issue 88 new special-use permits for 

occupancy and use of recreation residences on the Safford Ranger District upon their 

expiration. There would be no change in the use of the residences upon issuance of a new 

permit. Each new permit term would be valid for a period of 20 years. 

 A DEIS was prepared to evaluate the potential impacts of the proposed action 

and three alternatives, which are summarized as follows: 

*Alternative 1 (no action) would allow the recreational residences SUPs to expire and, in 

accordance with Forest Service policy, permits would be issued for a 10-year transitional 

occupancy period, after which permit holders would be required to remove structures and 

other improvements. 

*Alternative 2 is the proposed action, which is to issue new SUPs for the all 88 Safford 

District recreational residences. Alternative 2 is the Forest Service’s preferred 

alternative. 

*Alternative 3 would authorize new SUPs for 74 Turkey Flat permit holders for a 20-year 

period, and the 14 permits for residences within the Old Columbine tract would be 

allowed to expire. Transitional permits would be issued to Old Columbine permit holders 

for a 10-year transitional occupancy period, after which structures and other 

improvements would be removed. 

* Alternative 4 would authorize new SUPs for the 14 Old Columbine residences. The 74 

permits for Turkey Flat tract would be allowed to expire. New permits would be issued to 

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Turkey Flat permit holders for a 10-year transitional occupancy period, after which 

structures and other improvement would be removed. 

 The NEPA review of the proposed action included public meetings, field 

reviews, and interactions with various local, state and Federal agencies. Issues identified 

during the scoping period led to the development of the alternatives analyzed in the 

DEIS. The DEIS discloses the results of an analysis of the potential for direct, indirect 

and cumulative effects of the action alternatives and the no-action alternative in detail. 

The alternatives, including the proposed action, were designed to conform to existing 

laws and regulations and to provide for resource protection. 

Authorization: National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 as amended 

(42 U.S.C. 4321-4346); Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 

CFR parts 1500-1508); U.S. Department of Agriculture NEPA Policies and 

Procedures (7 CFR part 1b), Forest Service NEPA Regulations, 36 CFR 220. 

Dated: November 24, 2008. 

/s/ Reta J. Laford 

Reta J. Laford 

Deputy Forest Supervisor 

Coronado National Forest